Men's Ice Hockey

The University of Illinois ice hockey team competed from 1938-1943. In 1941, Illinois won the unofficial national championship with an overall record of 17-3-1 and a record of 5-1 within the Big Ten during conference play. Illinois was led by star players Nobert Sterle, Aldo Palazarri, and Amo Bessone. Sterle led the Illini with 21 goals, 32 assists and 53 total points for the 1941 season. He was also sensational in conference play with three goals and nine assists. That effort was good enough to lead the Big Ten in total points with twelve. From 1941-1943 Illinois had an overall record of 37-9-3 and went 15-2-1 in Big Ten conference play. The sport was discontinued after the 1943 season because of lack of players during World War II. Bassone went on to coach Michigan State hockey for 28 years from 1953 to 1979. He was inducated into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992. Illinois’ first hockey coach, Ray Eliot (1938 and 1939), later became the head football coach from 1942-59. Hockey legend Victor Heyliger coached Illinois the final four seasons, compiling a record of 39-13-3. After the Illini program was discontinued, he went to Michigan, where from 1945-57, he led the Wolverines to six NCAA championships and was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 1974.

Men's Ice Hockey Year-by-Year Records

Men’s Ice Hockey All-Time Letterwinners

Approximately 10,000 men and women have earned varsity letters as athletes in intercollegiate athletics at the University of Illinois from 1878. This list reflects the cumulative information contained within UI’s sports summary books for programs that have been retired. Team managers, who often earned varsity letters, have not been included due to inconsistent information. Female athletes are listed by their maiden names. As with any list of this magnitude, there could be inadvertent errors or omissions. Please contact the UI Athletic Public Relations office should you discover a mistake.